Samsung rolls out update to fix security flaw found in Galaxy S10 that lets anyone unlock phones with a cheap silicone case
- Samsung has rolled out software to fix bug found in Galaxy S10 6 days ago
- The flaw was made public after a mother in West Yorkshire spotted it
- She found her husband could unlock her phone with his own fingerprints
- It said plastic screen protectors could be confusing the biometric sensors
Samsung has rolled out a software update to fix an issue found in the Galaxy S 10 phones last week – a cheap screen protector was able to fool the fingerprint recognition.
A woman discovered the problem after fitting her phone with the case, allowing her husband to unlock the device, even though his fingerprint was not registered.
Samsung quickly acknowledged the malfunction and noted it stemmed from the fingerprint scanner recognizing a pattern on the silicone phone case along with the fingerprint.
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Samsung has rolled out a software update to fix an issue found in the Galaxy S 10 phones last week – a cheap screen protector was able to fool the fingerprint recognition (stock image)
The malfunction was discovered by 34-year-old Lisa Neilson, from West Yorkshire, who reported to Samsung that her phone was vulnerable when she had a plastic protector on it.
When this screen protector was on, Neilson found, anyone’s fingerprint could unlock the phone and access her apps and personal information.
Samsung said today it was ‘aware of the case of S10’s malfunctioning fingerprint recognition and will soon issue a software patch’, the BBC reported.
The issue could arise from the patterns inside the silicone protectors are added to someone’s fingerprint and confuse the phone’s sensors, the company said.
A woman discovered the problem after fitting her Galaxy S10 with a case, allowing her husband to unlock the device, even though his fingerprint was not registered.
Fingerprint-locking technology has been around for years on smartphones and is intended as an extra, impenetrable layer of security.
But Neilson told The Sun last weekend that, after she had set up the ID system with her right fingerprint, she could also open it with her left.
And then her husband managed to unlock the phone with his own thumbprints, which weren’t registered.
She said: ‘This means that if anyone got hold of my phone they can access it and within moments could be into the financial apps and be transferring funds.
‘It’s a real concern. We called Samsung because we thought there was a fault with the phone.
HOW WILL FINGERPRINT BANK CARDS WORK?
Dutch chipmaker Gemalto has launched a range of bank cards with an in-built fingerprint scanner.
This authenticates the payment and replaces the traditional PIN (Personal Identification Numbers).
Customers scan their fingerprint on a small sensor found on the right hand-side of the bank card.
Fingerprint data is stored on the card, not on a central database.
Since the biometric card works with current standards, there is no need to change the existing infrastructure.
The magnetic field generated by the card machine used for payment powers the scanner, meaning no battery is needed.
For biometric cards, little will have to change. Customers will need to register their fingerprint at their local bank via a tablet. This then stores the biometric data of every person on their card, but not on a central database
‘The man in customer services took control of the phone remotely and went into all the settings and finally admitted it looked like a security breach.’
The problem had begun after she’d bought a £2.70 screen protector from eBay and fitted it.
South Korea’s online-only KaKaobank has told its customers to stop using the Galaxy 10 fingerprint recognition function to log into its services until the issue is resolved.
Launched in March, Galaxy S10 series phones have an in-display sensor that uses ultrasound to detect the ridges of fingerprints, which Samsung has touted as a ‘revolutionary’ biometric authentication feature.
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